Guide

The ASA and CAP rules for marketing cosmetic procedures

The advertising code applies to your own website, and cosmetic procedures have their own guidance under it.

The short answer: the advertising rules that apply to a billboard also apply to your own website, and cosmetic procedures have their own specific guidance under those rules. An advert for a surgical or non-surgical cosmetic procedure must not mislead, must not make light of the risks, must not be aimed at under-18s, must be socially responsible, and must not push a patient into surgery with a deadline.

Who are the ASA and CAP?

The Committee of Advertising Practice writes the UK advertising code for non-broadcast media, and the Advertising Standards Authority enforces it. CAP also publishes advice on how the code applies in specific sectors, and cosmetic interventions are one of those sectors. When a complaint is made about a clinic’s advertising, it is the ASA that investigates and publishes the ruling, naming the advertiser.

Does the code apply to a clinic’s own website?

Yes. The ASA’s remit covers marketing communications on an advertiser’s own website and in social media under its control, not only paid advertising placed elsewhere. A procedure page, a price list, a before-and-after gallery and a promotional post are all marketing communications. The clinic is responsible for them whoever wrote them.

What does it mean for a procedure page to be misleading?

The code requires that marketing does not mislead, by what it says or by what it leaves out. For a cosmetic procedure that means claims about outcome must be capable of being substantiated, images must be representative rather than exceptional, and a page must not create an impression of results that most patients will not get. A claim does not have to be false to be misleading. It only has to give a reasonable reader the wrong impression.

What does it mean to trivialise risk?

CAP’s guidance is that adverts for cosmetic procedures must not trivialise the risks or the seriousness of the decision. Describing surgery as quick, easy or routine, presenting it as a lifestyle purchase, or leaving out any mention of recovery all have the effect of making a clinical decision look like something else. The test is the overall impression, not the presence or absence of a disclaimer.

Can cosmetic procedure adverts be aimed at under-18s?

No. The guidance is that marketing for cosmetic interventions must not be directed at people under 18, through the choice of media, the content, or the people it features. On a website this means the imagery and the language on a procedure page, and it also means the audience selection on any paid social activity that points to it.

What does social responsibility require?

The code requires that marketing is prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and society. For cosmetic procedures, CAP applies this to content that exploits insecurity about appearance, implies a procedure will improve a person’s life or relationships, or presents a procedure as the answer to a problem it is not designed for. A page that describes what a procedure does, for whom, and with what risks, is on the right side of this line.

Are time-limited offers on surgery allowed?

CAP’s guidance is that marketing for surgical procedures must not use time-limited offers or similar pressure that could lead a consumer to decide in haste. A countdown, a deadline on a discount, or a limited number of places at a price are the forms this usually takes. The concern is that a surgical decision deserves a cooling-off period and a deadline removes it. Non-surgical procedures are treated with more nuance, but the same principle of not rushing the decision applies.

How does the MHRA rule sit alongside?

Separately from the advertising code, it is unlawful to advertise a prescription-only medicine to the public. Botulinum toxin products are prescription-only medicines. That means a clinic cannot use the brand name of an injectable to promote a treatment, however it is phrased. This is a statutory prohibition rather than a code, and it applies regardless of whether an advert would otherwise satisfy CAP. Our guide on advertising injectables covers it in more detail.

What should you check on your own site today?

• Does any page describe the result in detail and the risk not at all?
• Are before-and-after images typical of what most patients get?
• Is there a deadline, countdown or limited-place offer attached to a surgical procedure?
• Does any imagery or language speak to under-18s?
• Does any page name a prescription-only medicine to promote it?
• Could every claim on the site be substantiated if the ASA asked?

This is general information rather than regulatory advice. The clinic is the advertiser, and compliance with the advertising code rests with you as the regulated party.

Source: ASA and CAP, guidance on the marketing of surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures, read 11 September 2026.